Can we be scared into being healthier?

Posted by kjohnson on May 4, 2015 in Blog | Comments Off on Can we be scared into being healthier?

Research-although not conclusive-is pointing in the direction of using less fear tactics to utilizing more positive forms of reinforcement to encourage people to make better decisions about their health. Eric Nelson, a syndicated writer, spiritual explorer and colleague, offers a different-more spiritual method for breaking the cycle of negative thinking which may culminate in making bad health choices. Join me and find out what spiritual insight Eric has to share.

“This is your brain,” he says. “This is drugs,” he continues, pointing to the piping hot skillet in front of him.

Then, after cracking the egg into the skillet, he says, “This is your brain on drugs.”

The message couldn’t have been clearer. But was it effective? Yes. And no. Although drug use among adolescents in the U.S. dropped from 3.2 million to 1.3 million between 1985 and 1992 (this particular ad began running in 1987), just a year later the number went back up to 2.1 million.

Although the jury is still out as to whether such scare tactics provide any lasting benefit – not just in terms of drug use, but also for other health-related choices we make – the scales appear to be tilting in favor of an approach that involves fewer sticks and more carrots.

Kate is interested in blogging about the impact of prayer and spirituality on our health from her experience as a Christian Science practitioner. She is the media, legislative and public contact for Christian Science in the state of Maryland. Contact Kate on Twitter: @CscomMaryland, on Facebook: Kate Johnson CS, or email: maryland@compub.org.